Wildlife

Yesterday, I went out to see all the open water. McMurdo Sound has more open water than it's seen in a long time; stretching all the way out to Scott Base and the pressure ridges. While I was out there, I saw a baby leopard seal swimming around in the water. It popped out of the water and came up to about three feet. While watching it, I saw a pod of orca swimming out in the water. There were about nine to a dozen of them just swimming and playing out there. Of course, I dragged my bags in the morning and managed to pack my camera, so I don't have any pictures...

BBC EMS

I just stepped off the BBC EMS. It is the container boat that showed up this season, which means ship offload and onload is underway. Lots of people are on station, and everyone is busy.

Even the Mundane Is Out of the Ordinary

I just updated my Outlook Calendar. The meeting location I entered was USNS Matthiesen. It is funny events like that that make me think about where I am. When else am I going to hear, "hey, can you run down to the tanker?" or "we need to get that computer on the next helo/C-17/LC-130 out." Who knows, maybe my next job? I don't have any idea what my next job will be, though. I'm also dead tired. I want to travel after I hit Christchurch, but I fear I may end up vegging for the week.

Hitchhikers

There were four emperor penguins hanging out by the road to Pegasus today. I had a service call out that way, but I didn't really feel like hopping out of the van to take pictures. As we passed them, they started flapping their wings and squawking like they were trying to flag us down for a ride. It was really cold out...

Palmer Tour

The Palmer crew was kind enough to give tours while she is docked on the ice pier. I just got back into the shop, and the rest of the PC Techs are out doing line-handling. The Palmer and Oden leave today to collect data around the coast of the continent. They will return in a month to ship many scientists and support crew back by C-17/Airbus.

Nathaniel B. Palmer

The Oden is on the ice pier clearing out ice so that the Palmer can dock. The Palmer is hanging out in the turning basin, and I've gotten a few shots of it sitting out there.

From Antarctica: 2010-2011 Winfly/Mainbody

No News Is Good News?

Hmm, this is going to be a really boring post. I don't have anything to report. The season is coming along and has been pretty uneventful. Christmas and then the rush to the end of the season are coming up soon. The two winfly months make the season feel MUCH longer. I can't believe it is almost Christmas. It really doesn't feel like it; I guess I need to get my "It's a Wonderful Life" fix soon.

I'm a little worried about the Korean conflict and how it might affect my travel plans. Maybe it will turn out for the best, as I can't see many people wanting to travel to the area unless they are on business. Hopefully, flights and accomodation will be cheap.

Ob Tube

I made it to the Observation Tube last night. The Ob Tube is a large metal cylinder with plexiglass viewing ports on it that gets placed in a hole cut into the ice. It allows you to look at sealife under the ice/water. There were a lot of krill and some odd spherical swimming creatures in the water. It was a beautiful clear day, so quite a bit of light shone through the ice. The line was pretty long, so I didn't take any pictures. On the way back, there was a seal surfacing in one of the melt pools for air. I tried to grab a movie of it, but my camera just caught a big, blurry mess. It was a shame, as the seal was only about fifteen feet away from me.

Hut Ridge Loop

My Iceberg trip got cancelled, so I spent part of my Sunday out hiking. Man, I am so out of shape! I did manage to finish the hut ridge loop for the first time, though. Many people were out hiking because it was so warm on Sunday; it actually hit 30F! I dressed lightly, and I still sweated up a storm. If this weather persists, we will probably see a lot of wildlife again this season.

Tired

This season has been crazy busy. Thus far, I haven't really done any recreational activities. Tomorrow night, I am heading out to an iceberg trip. That should be good!

Balloon Launch

From Antarctica: 2010-2011 Winfly/Mainbody

I was walking from one building to another for a service call, and one of my co-workers noticed a balloon launch out on the ice transition. This one was from the Concordiasi project.

Boom!

Of course, my batteries run out on my camera when I get the chance to catch the blasters at work. They are blasting out the bollards (the anchors for the tie-downs for the boats) on the ice runway. I heard that the first couple were pretty spectacular. Anyways, one was scheduled for today, and I went out to go watch. The weather went con 2, so I couldn't see a whole lot, but I heard the boom and saw a puff of yellow stuff float up. It wasn't spectacular, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Lack of Photos

Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything that I didn't see last season, so I have a dearth of pictures. Hopefully, I'll run into something new as the season progresses. The days are getting longer now, so I think my shot at Southern Lights has passed. If I want to see any, I think I'll need to winter, but I don't see that happening.

Wait. What?

Coldest day in MacTown, yet. My teeth hurt when I smile outside. I had to break out my Carhartt bibs.

Earthquakes

New Zealand is still seeing aftershocks from the big 7.5 earthquake earlier in the week. Thus far, there have been no casualties, and I pray that it stays that way. Our people in the CDC have reported that they are safe, which is very good news.

Privacy

This season is a totally different experience from last season. I actually have some semblance of privacy, and I know where I'm going. The crazy thing is that I will be the only returning Computer Tech when the Winter over leaves. That means that I'll be the one with the most on-Ice experience, and I've only had one other season. That said, IT work is the same the world over, so there aren't really any surprises. I'm feeling a lot less social this season, but that might just be the Winter overs rubbing off on me. I feel much more comfortable this season, but less excited about being here. I think I'm really looking forward to my travels in Japan and Korea.

Ready to Roll!

I did my snow school refresher and Dry Valleys training yesterday, so I am ready to go to a field camp if necessary. I'm excited, but I am not sure I'll luck out two seasons in a row. Who knows, though.... This is supposed to be the busiest season ever in terms of Science projects and grantees coming through. The NSF is also opening up new field camps around the continent and even close to base.

Argh!

I went out last night to stargaze and try to catch Auroras around Hut Point. The weather was supposed to be great for it. Anyhoo, I went out from about 8:15pm to 9pm, and I didn't see much. The starts were great, but background light from town kept me from getting a good look at anything. I gave up because I was getting cold. A group went out around 9-ish and came back with reports of amazing auroras. Grr! I'll have to keep my eye out and see if I can catch something. Next time, I'll need to bring a hot drink.

Con 2, but Warm

All day today has been condition 2 weather. High winds and low visibility have been the norm for today. It is really neat to walk around in blowing snow that prevents you from seeing more than a few feet in front of you. I can't say it is very smart, though... :P

Second First Day

I flew in on the C-17 yesterday, and I am back at my work center. I thought that six months of doing nothing would have dulled my brain a lot more, but I seem to be back in the swing of things. I have Sunday off, so the timing was convenient. I feel good about this season despite not knowing what I intend to get out of it. I do like the fact that I got here when it was still dark for part of the day. I will be taking some pictures, but not a lot. Winfly is really, really cold. With wind chill, the temperatures are -47F, which is about 157 degrees colder than my last locale.